Report: Briton warns of exaggerated al-Qaida threat

Published 6:30 am, Sunday, December 16, 2007

LONDON — Britain is in danger of exaggerating the threat from al-Qaida, the former top adviser on terrorism to Prime Minister Gordon Brown was quoted Sunday as saying.

Richard Mottram, who retired last month from his post as an adviser on intelligence and security, said focusing too tightly on the terrorist movement risked underplaying other important threats such as climate change or a possible flu pandemic, a British newspaper reported.

"What we shouldn't do is play into al-Qaida's hands by exaggerating the extent and nature of the threat they present globally," Mottram was quoted by The Observer newspaper as saying.